Land of Confusion
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: When Dracula goes on his nightly hunt, he meets someone connected to him in a way he never expected. How will he handle this fateful encounter? Set to the song by the same name.


**Land of Confusion**

**Summary**: When Dracula goes on his nightly hunt, he meets someone connected to him in a way he never expected. How will he handle this fateful encounter? Set to the song by the same name.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Dracula, nor do I own the song.

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks for being patient with me on "Set of Wings". That will be up as soon as possible. For now, I hope this story will give you something to read until I can get the next chapter up. How did this story come about? Well, I don't know if it's because I'm such a nerd because I'm obsessed with Dracula (well… _obsessed_ is not really the right word…) that I can relate him to my favorite songs or if I'm just really in tune to music, but this song came up on my iPod one day and I thought that it really related to Dracula. So, there you have it. I listened to the remake by Disturbed to write this, but you can think of the Genesis original if you would like; it doesn't really matter. I don't really consider this a song fic because I didn't use the entire song- just lyrics that matched the part. Also, I must give my mother credit for one of her genius ideas as well as helping me decide which lyrics went where, which I will enlighten more in the ending author's note. This is a more… "poetic" delving into the mind of Dracula (most likely AU as well), so enjoy!

"I must have dreamed a thousand dreams- been haunted by a million screams." 

Sometimes, he wondered why he made the decision he had. Every night, he had to do something that no normal man would even dream of doing, just to survive. Sometimes, he wondered if it was even worth it- hearing the screams of his victims as they died in his arms, the torment of the constant nightmares that plagued his dreams. He wasn't sure anymore…

"_But I can hear the marching feet- __they're moving into the street."_

He heard the fateful footsteps before he saw any sign of human life. By their sound, he could tell that his next victim was going to be a woman.

"_But I can see the fire's still alight- __they're burning into the night."_

He could see the small amount of light coming from a flickering candle guiding her path down the road, casting away the shadows. He wondered if it cast away her fear of the night- of him.

Why wasn't her heartbeat quickening? He knew that he was near enough to her for her to feel his presence- an icy chill descending upon her heart. And yet, he felt no fear radiating from her.

"Tell me why this is the land of confusion…" 

His keen eyes narrowed darkly as he watched the girl walk along the dark street below him, holding the candle out before her to guide her. The light was not intense enough to disturb him- he could easily move in the safety of the shadows and come up behind her. Yes, that is what he would do…

"This is the world we live in, and these are the hands we're given…" 

He silently dropped down from his perch on the roof as she passed from underneath him and followed her, not making a sound. She seemed not to notice him as she continued her way down the abandoned road. Then, she stopped momentarily as she looked into the trees on her right and then down the road that met with the one she was on to her left. Perfect. This was his chance. He silently approached her from behind, using his cold hand to brush the girl's brown hair back from her face- from her neck.

Still, the girl did not seem startled that he was there. At his gentle touch, she slowly turned around to face him, the candle's small, flickering flame casting light onto his pale face. He squinted for a moment, but his sharp eyes soon adjusted as he looked down on the girl. She appeared to be around twelve by her round face and bright eyes, much too young to be wandering about alone at this hour of the night. But as he looked into those shining eyes, he inwardly gasped when he knew where he had seen those same, penetrating orbs before.

"_I remember long ago when the sun was shining, and all the stars were bright all through the night, in the wake of this madness, as I held you tight… So long ago…" _

Had she had a child all of those years before? He remembered that before he had been murdered, he had loved a beautiful young woman- he had often visited her in her small home in the center of town. They were both young and in the prime of their lives, about to be married. But, they had only spent one night together before he was brutally taken away from her to a place where she could not follow- to a life of eternal night that she could not live. Had she had a child?

He could tell by looking into the girl's eyes that she was not afraid of him- that she knew him as he knew her. Her orbs locked with his- he would know that intense gaze anywhere. There was no mistaking it. This girl was a descendant of the woman he used to love.

"This is the time, this is the place so we look for the future, but there's not much love to go around…"

His sharp ears picked up the rhythmic sound of her heartbeat, but he was still confused about why she was not afraid of him. He had not dealt with this before. Normally, fear was the last thing in his victim's heart before it stopped. But there was something strange about this heartbeat. As the sound echoed in his ears, he realized that it was familiar to him. He had felt it before- but not from one of his victims.

"_Can't you see this is a land of confusion?"_

He remembered the sound of his own heartbeat from when he had been among the living- the feel of it pushing life through him as it beat strongly in his chest. How he had taken it for granted, for he knew that he would never feel it again. He placed his hand over where his heart should have been. It was there, but he did not consider it to be a part of him. But for one moment, he could almost feel it beating again.

But it was not his. The sound of the girl's heart had taken over his senses, was pulsing through him, even though he was standing before her. His hunger told him to bite her, to drain her and move on, but he fought the ravenous desire aside. He only looked down upon her in silence- the girl looking back up at him impassively. Her heartbeat grew louder, and he was surprised when his dead one seemed to come to life inside of him. His gaze moved back to her, his eyes filled with uncertainty. It had been so long since he had felt it; it was almost foreign to him.

But he soon realized that his heart was not truly beating- it was the girl's beating in time with the one he had once had. The beat of her heart was his own.

"This is the world we live in, and these are the hands we're given…" 

His heart continued to beat through hers, and his feeling of hunger soon subsided as he took a small step back from her. He knew that if he were to bite her, he would be drinking his own blood. They shared the same heartbeat, and he knew that this girl was not only the descendant of the woman he used to love…

A chill descended upon the town, and the girl instinctively shivered as the flame of her candle wavered. She was too young. She should not have been out in the cold dead of the night. The girl watched curiously as the man before her slowly leaned forward and blew out the candle, his eyes becoming two small pools of light in the moon's rays.

Those eyes- they were so captivating, so entrancing. As she continued to look into the lifeless, moonlight voids, she felt her own eyes beginning to grow heavy. The candle fell from her hand as her legs collapsed from beneath her, falling toward the dirt road below.

But he was faster. He swiftly and fluidly caught her before she hit the ground, looking down on her without expression as he supported her. The girl's heart had slowed due to the sleep that she had fallen into, and he strangely found himself being calmed by the steady pattern. She had to be home, safe and warm from the evils the night hid.

He picked her up into his arms, her head resting comfortably against his chest- over his dead heart. Then, following his strong instinct, he silently moved through the abandoned streets toward the center of town.

They met no one along the way, much to his relief. His feeling of hunger was beginning to burn inside of him again, but he knew that he would have to sustain until later. This was not the time.

He rounded a corner, stepping onto a street that he had known so well during life. The house that he had once called his second home was still standing- it was more run down and showed many signs of repair, but it had been well preserved through the ages. A single lantern was hung above the door, dimly lit- a welcoming beacon for one who was not yet at home. This must have been where the girl lived, for it was the only lit signal that he had seen in the town.

He effortlessly climbed up to a ledge below one of the windows on the second story, peering into the room and seeing that an empty bed was the only thing in the darkness. He slipped inside, dropping noiselessly to the floor. Making sure that the girl was still asleep in his arms, he moved to the bedside and gently placed her down in it, pulling the covers up over her so that she would be warm and protected from the night's chill. He then moved back to the window, preparing to leave, but some force caused him to slowly sit on the sill. He silently watched over her as she slept as the moments ticked by, merely sitting and thinking. It was almost comforting to know that his bloodline was still around. Though he and this girl did not share his name, they were connected by their heartbeat.

"Stand up and let's start showing just where our lives are going to."

Suddenly, his sharp ears picked up the sound of hurried footsteps, and he jumped down from the sill just as the door of the room opened. The girl's parents rushed inside, and he could feel their surprise at the sight of their daughter safe in her bed. Her father, he could tell that it was him due to the sound of his heavier footsteps, went to check on her immediately, but her mother, drawn by his presence, rushed to the open window. Though she could feel him there, he knew that she could not see him. He was cloaked by the night itself, hidden by its protective shadows. The only thing she could see was that the lantern had been extinguished by a dark whisper on the wind.

**A/N**: It was Dracula that extinguished the lantern in case you didn't catch it. Anyway, I must thank my mom for coming up with the same heartbeat idea. Wasn't that genius? But, she says that I'm the genius because all she did was come up with it- I'm the one that wove it into words. But, she still gets credit, whether she likes it or not. Lol! Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated!


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